Bobby McFerrin puts soul in spiritual improvisation

Every empty seat in Helzberg Hall on Friday night signified someone’s missed opportunity to witness one of the most uplifting, rewarding and musically satisfying shows in Kansas City this year. Bobby McFerrin melds scat-singing, vocalise, beat-box and an encyclopedic catalogue of melodic knowledge into a performance style that’s very physics is boggling.

KC ensemble to deliver Beck’s ‘Song Reader’

A KC jazz project gathers around songwriter Beck’s “Song Reader,” a group of 20 songs that existed only on paper and awaited interpretation. Pianist Mark Lowrey and others will perform all the songs Friday night at RecordBar.

Pianist Gerald Clayton plays in the new mainstream

Gerald Clayton, the top-notch young pianist who’s bringing his trio to the Blue Room on Saturday, is searching for new grooves and sounds but plays with taste and style, the kind that comes out of tradition, related to that thing called swing.

Belton displays its pride in Tate Stevens on its water tower

Belton honored its favorite son Monday as the Cass County city added country singer and "X Factor" winner Tate Stevens' name to its water tower, along with the words "Live the Dream!" Stevens spoke at the ceremony, held hours before his second of two concerts at the Midland in Kansas City that kick off a U.S. Tour.

Tate Stevens gives Midland crowd plenty to write home about

Belton native Tate Stevens may be a newcomer in the country-music big leagues, but Sunday night, the winner of the second season of “The X Factor” showed he is a seasoned performer. He and his five-piece band kept the energy levels high all night in the first of two Kansas City shows that kick off his U.S. tour.

Rap star T.I. fails to impress at the Sprint Center

Rapper T.I.’s perfunctory performance Saturday night at the Sprint Center was salvaged by the strength of his material. Aside from renditions of a few deep album tracks like “Freak Though,” his effort contained no surprises or standout moments.

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain delights capacity crowd at JCCC

Who would have guessed one of the hottest tickets in town this weekend would be to hear English ukulele players? The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain brought a two-hour show filled with superb musicianship and a stage presence characterized by zany, deadpan British humor to Johnson County Community College’s Yardley Hall on Saturday night.

Review: Eldar returns with own compositions

Eldar Djangirov, the room-filling pianist, returned to Kansas City Sunday for a multi-night run at Jardine’s and took no time at all to endear himself to a loyal crowd. In the first set, the onetime prodigy showed off the full range of his talents, as a formidable performer and now an emerging composer.

Rapper T.I. gets into ‘Trouble’ at the Sprint Center

The rapper T.I., touring behind his new Marvin Gaye-inspired album, "Trouble Man," performed at the Sprint Center on Saturday night, B.o.B, another Southern rapper with a flair for drama, opened the show. Check out photos from the concert by The Star’s Joe Ledford.

Ticket alert

On the way: Steely Dan, Straight No Chaser, Guns N’ Roses, Kelly Rowland, Carly Rae Jepsen

Charismatic Tenors charm audience at the Midland

Four engaging young Canadians known as the Tenors beguiled a capacity crowd Friday night at the Midland Theatre with a polished road show that covered musical territory from immortal tenor arias to American religious music to Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan to Broadway tunes and to original material.

Ticket alert

Tickets for Mary J. Blige, Robert Cray, Iron Maiden and Megadeth tickets go on sale Friday.